


Dead on Arrival

by caplanbuckybarnes



Category: Marvel
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1940s, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Angst and Feels, Attempted Murder, Eventual Smut, F/M, Heavy Angst, Murder, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-04-01 04:38:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13990632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caplanbuckybarnes/pseuds/caplanbuckybarnes
Summary: Bucky’s the mobster king of Brooklyn. His word is law. You’d be a goddamned fool not to be on his side.





	1. Chapter 1

He was known as the King of Brooklyn, mastermind of the town and its city limits. Anyone could tell you that and you’d be a damned fool not to know that. He was feared and respected by all who had breathed the scent of his cologne. And God forbid those who wrongly crossed his path. His name was almost like a curse, anyone who wasn’t a close friend or a family member, died within days of speaking out against him. She grew up fearing him. After all, he was the reason her mother had died in a car explosion when she had barely passed the age of twelve years old. Of course, it wasn’t exactly his fault. Her mother happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, or so she believed. He had been targeting an enemy and the explosion just happened to go off just as her mother strolled the streets, bags full of groceries cradled in her arms.

Her mother had died a terrible death that day, something she’d never forgive the man for - the death of her mother. If she ever caught sight of the man, she’d spit on the ground he walked on, not giving a hell of the consequences of her actions.

Her mother wasn’t the only victim of that explosion, but her mother mattered most to her. She was an adult now, working at a small dingy bar that was normally full of crooks and bikers alike. They didn’t bother her too much, however, as they knew the owner would absolutely give them hell had they so much as tried. Natalia Romanova was no joke when it came to handling her business. Natalia had become a great friend of hers over the years that she worked for her. Natalia had helped her get off her feet and had gone with her to buy her first apartment when she had collected enough money to do so.

Over the years she had worked for Natalia, she learned a lot of her past; she’d grown up in a foster home, never knowing who her parents were. She would tell anyone that she didn’t really care to know that information. Eventually she learned that Natalia had a small history with the King of Brooklyn as well.

To say she was intrigued and shocked, well, that was putting it lightly.

The relationship between Barnes and Natalia hardly lasted a year, however, as he lived the mobster life, and Natalia was merely a poor bar worker, struggling to have ends meet.

Natalia had been okay with the whole ordeal; they remained dear friends, even after all of these years later. They’d keep in contact, and she thought it was an odd thing to do, despite the way the world works.  After all, why keep in contact with an ex? Especially when that ex-lover of yours runs the city like a kingdom?

Natalia was a sweethearted person, while Bucky Barnes was…well, a menace at best. She loved quiet settings, while Bucky seemed to enjoy the mobster life, killing innocent people and shooting up random storefronts just for the hell of the game.

She’d only ever seen the man in the newspaper, after all the man practically made a living being on the front page. There wasn’t a person in this city who didn’t know who he was. His icy blue eyes always shone brightly through the photographs taken of him that were displayed on the front covers. She always shivered at the sight when she caught Natalia reading the paper when the bar had become quiet on the rare occasion.

He was a handsome man, albeit terrifying. She’d never seen him in person, although the stories and fairy tales she’d heard of him as she grew older scared her. Even so, she held a great bout of anger for the man, given he had taken her mother away from her all too soon. That was something she would never be able to forgive the man for.  She held anger and resentment towards him, a feat she’d never thought possible.

She’d been cleaning the bar tops before she absently checked the clock that hung above the table she’d been cleaning. She sighed, and finished wiping it down. Untying her apron from her waist, she walked behind the bar, gently swiping her lips against Natalia’s cheek.

“I have to be on my way to the Pavilion,” she bid goodbye as she put her arms through her coat, readying herself to brace the cold wind before she walked outside into the evening winter’s air. Natalia waved her off into the night.

She walked down the streets, keeping her face pointed at the ground to hide away from the brisk air as much as she could. Pulling the coat even tighter to her frame as she marched ahead, she shivered as a gust of wind tickled her neck.

“Y/N!” An excited voice called the moment she entered the small club, thankful for the warmth of the place.

“Wanda,” she welcomed as the small redhead jumped from the stage and made her way to the entrance.

“You’ll never believe who will be here tonight,” she announced, her brown eyes flaring with excitement. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“Who?” She asked, curious as to why Wanda was acting like a kid who had too much sugar before bedtime.

“The Brooklyn King himself!” She grinned, eyes became dreamy. She nearly swooned on the spot.

“What?” She asked, swallowing down the vomit that arose within her as she was making her way behind the stage to her dressing room. “Wanda, that can’t be true.”

“Oh, yes it is!” Wanda exclaimed. “Sam told me himself!”

She swallowed hard again to keep her calm composure. But she’d wanted to scream and be angry. She wanted to panic. But she couldn’t, not with Wanda so close to her. “When will he be here?”

“Sometime before your performance,” Wanda replied. All the while, the redhead bore a soft smile. “It will be great. He might ask you to join him at his own bar across town! Think of the opportunities you’ll have working for him! He must know a million talent scouts.”

She nodded, distracted in her anger and panic.

“Yeah,” she spoke softly. “Listen, Wanda, let me go get dressed for the night, alright?”

Wanda nodded before prancing off, her short heels clicking against the wooden flooring.

Don’t disappoint him, she thought as she entered her dressing room while trying to remain as calm as she could be. Truthfully, she was in a panic. But she had a job to do - she couldn’t disappoint Sam. She had to perform, and perform she would.

Sitting in front of the vanity mirror, she held her breath as she decided on what makeup she should wear for the stage. She never knew how many men or women would be gathered around her. But she always wanted to look her best, even if her dresses were cheaply made.

Sam Wilson, she’d worked for him for a few years, not nearly as long as she worked for Natalia, but long enough to recognize his bar regulars. She knew a few names of the common bar patrons and had always been met with friendly faces when she worked.

She sighed in desperation before turning in her seat and gazing at the dresses that hung on a rack against the wall opposite the door. She heaved herself from the seat and walked over, picking a dress out, the best one she had in her possession besides a red shimmery dress she had worn when she performed for President Truman when he was in town for the weekend last year. The memory gave her reason to smile as it arose in her mind. Truman was a nice enough man, but she knew where the president stood in political matters.

She picked the dress and carefully put it on her body, smiling ever so slightly as she caught her reflection in the mirror from the vanity. She was just barely placing lipstick on her lips when a knock on her door caused her to stop.

“Come in,” she called, placing the tube down, spinning around to face the door to greet whomever had entered her room.

“Hey,” Peter Quill poked his head inside. “Sam says you’re due in a few moments, he said I should inform you.”

She nodded, glancing at the clock resting by her left arm. “Thank you.” Finishing her make up quickly, she was satisfied with the look and stood up, brushing the front of her dress to calm her nerves down.

She walked through the short corridor until she reached the stairs that led to the stage. As she stepped up to the mic, she heard Pietro playing a Christmas tune, a favorite of hers; O’ Holy Night.

It seemed to be a favorite of the older crowd, which seemed to be huddled around the stage tonight. She smiled throughout the lyrics, swaying her hips to the tune.

She went through several more songs before the bar doors opened and two gentleman entered the joint, looking as official and important as ever. She had a strong suspicion of who the men were. She was just barely able to sing the rest of her set before she’d walked off stage. She was shaking by the time she reached the bar where Sam Wilson was serving drinks, a rag slung over his shoulder, his shirt half buttoned.

“Give me whiskey,” she ordered as he strode over to her.

“Relax, sweetheart,” he grinned, pouring the liquid into a glass before sliding it over to her. “James Barnes isn’t in here tonight, only his goons.”

“Are you sure?” She asked, peering over her shoulder at the three men who were sitting in a corner booth, whispering furiously to each other.

Two of the men looked absolutely terrifying. One had broad shoulders, dirty blond hair that nearly fell into his baby blue eyes. The man sitting across from him had a terrifying eye patch covering his right eye. He held a thick cuban cigar in his left hand. He seemed to hold an air of importance, as though he had more important places to be other than sitting in some dingy little bar in the heart of Brooklyn. But the third man, he was sitting beside the eye patch man. He had baby blue eyes, almost similar to those of Bucky Barnes himself. But he was skinny, hardly a muscle on his body. He seemed almost out of place sitting beside these two other men.

“Are they in a business meeting?” She asked curiously. “They can’t be from Barnes’ establishments, right?”

“Are you kiddin’?” Sam scoffed. “You mean to tell me you recognize none of them over there?”

“Can’t say that I do, honestly,” she mumbled over the rim of the glass as she brought it to her lips.

“The eye patch is Nick Fury, he handles business for Bucky when the King goes away on business trips all over the city. The dirty blonde is Clint Barton, he handles the corpses of Barnes’ enemies, or whomever Barnes needs dead. The skinny fella is Two Tone Rogers. Though, most people call him some form of his birth name, Steven Rogers. He’s Bucky’s right hand man, follows him like a shadow most days.”

“Oh,” was the only response her tongue would allow her to utter out.

“Clint is also a close relative of Natalia, too.” He smirked as she sputtered and coughed, causing alcohol to spill out over the bar top.

“Excuse me?” She demanded. “What?” Why hadn’t she ever spoke of this? She’d told me she dated Barnes, but why hadn’t she said anything of this nature? It was only at that moment that she’d realised Sam’s formal use to Barnes’s nickname. “Hey.” She accused. “I thought only those closest to Barnes spoke his name like that, everyone else is too frightened to speak of it.”

He raised an amused brow. “News flash, sweetheart; I ain’t afraid of nothin’ or nobody.” He winked before walking away and catering to another bar patron.

She was left in silence, sipping at her drink, with thanks to Sam for leaving the mostly full bottle in her care. She’d been mulling the information over in her head, never noticing the triad of men making their way over to her.

“Care for a drink, sweetheart?” A voice behind her spoke, causing her to jump out of her skin.

Once she turned around, she tried keeping her composure. “No thanks, fellas.”

“Gentlemen,” Sam’s voice came to her rescue as the three men didn’t seem as though they would budge anytime soon.

“Wilson,” Nick Fury spoke, hardly tearing his gaze away from her. “Mind if we have a small chat with the lady?”

“It’s not up to me, fellas,” he replied. “It’s her body, her voice, and her time.”

Nick stared at her. She felt as though he could see through her, into her soul. And it frightened her. Though she’d be a fool to show fear in front of men like these goons.

She nodded despite the panic.

“The old man wants to hear you sing for him.” Nick spoke, not giving Sam any attention as he stepped away, though she knew her friend was still in earshot in case the situation escalated.

“Why me?” She asked. “I’m just a small time bar singer.”

Nick shrugged, gazing at the other two men. Clint held a smirk on his rough features. Two Tone seemed as though he wished he could disappear.

“He’d wanted you for a long time, sweetheart. Natalia spoke of your talents with him. He sent us here today to scout you out. And I must say, I’m deeply impressed with your voice as well.”

“Agreed,” Clint spoke, smirking slightly as his gaze fell upon the bottle of whiskey on the counter.

“Care to take a walk, darlin’?” Nick spoke, already sending Steve to grab her coat from the dressing room. Sam allowed the action, though she felt as though she were being violated somehow.

“Go on, Y/N,” Sam urged as she looked at him.

“Okay,” she gulped down her fear as Steve had returned with her coat. He helped her place it on her shoulders before the four of them walked out into the wintry breeze.

“He’s very fond of you,” Nick spoke, though his voice had suddenly turned thick with hatred. “I can’t see why. But he would love to have a meeting with you tomorrow morning at his establishment across the city.”

“And if I deny him?” She asked as Clint directed her to a car. She was pushed into the vehicle without any politeness.

“You’d be a damned fool,” Steve spoke as he sat in the front passenger seat, Nick taking the wheel, Clint sitting beside her.

“Where are you taking me?” She asked, fearing for her life as the car pulled out of the parking spot. It took her a moment to realize that Nick begun driving in the direction of her house.

“Home,” replied Nick.

“How-”

“It’s best if you stop with the questions, Y/N,” Steve spoke, glancing at her from the rearview mirror. “You’ll end up dead that way, you know.”

She clamped her mouth shut for the rest of the journey home, wondering all the way how her life had turned into this.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been two days after her meeting with Barnes’ men. And no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t shake off Nick’s threats from her mind.

“You’re a ruddy fool if you deny him, Y/N,” Nick spoke as the three of them surrounded her on the couch. She sat with Clint on her right side, Steve to her left. Nick stood in front of her, looking as menacing and vile as ever.

“Do you carry drinks in your home?” he asked her, casually flicking his cigar onto the carpet, stepping on the ember ashes, ignoring the burnt markings that now rested in the plush flooring.

“In the kitchen,” she mumbled, pointing with her finger. “Wine is in the fridge, glasses on the rack by the window.”

“Steve,” ordered Nick without so much as a glance at the man.

Steve stood silently and fetched the bottle and four glasses, pouring the red wine into the glasses generously before handing them to each to the figures standing about the room. He grabbed his glass and resumed his seat next to her without a single word.

“You can deny my words all you want to, girl,” Nick warned, “But you’ll work for him. Nobody says no to Barnes and gets away with it for long. You’ll get what’s comin’ to you. Or be a good girl and accept his offer. What does Wilson have for you? He can’t give you the money Barnes can. Surely, you’re not happy working two jobs?”

“I am, actually,” she replied casually sitting back against the leather couch. She tried being strong, but inside she was shaken up. It was a bad idea to deny Barnes when he requested your appearance - he was like the devil coming for you. It wasn’t something you’d be able to avoid forever.

“You’ll work for him, whether you want to or not,” Nick continued on with his threats, throwing the wine into his mouth before swallowing it and slamming down the glass on the table.

The men had left not long after that. Steve and Clint remaining silent throughout the whole exchange. She was completely terrified. But she couldn’t decide if she was more frightened of Barnes or his lackey, Nick Fury.

——–

Two days since her meeting with Barnes’ goons and she had just managed to discuss the meeting with Natalia while she worked her shift at the bar. She brought up the relationship with Clint and Natalia blushed. Her friend said she hadn’t wanted her to think any less of her. Natalia was ashamed of hiding that snippet of her life away but it was a hard thing to deal with given the circumstances.

“I met James through Clint when we were in high school .They were hanging out together at the track and I happened to be practicing with my cheer squad. Bucky took a liking to me and Clint introduced us.” She shrugged, nibbling at her lip. “But, Y/N, I can assure you, while James is a mob boss, he’s a delicate man underneath. He can be wild at times and he’s thirsty for blood. It’s all he knows in his life. His parents were taken away from him at a young age. James has never had anything to help him cope except a gun to keep him company.”

She nodded at Natalia’s explanation, though she was still incredibly confused on how to feel about the man. After all, Bucky Barnes had killed her mother when she was such a young child. Nothing Natalia or anyone else had said would ever change that fact. Her mother was dead because of that man.

“If you do decide to work for him, Y/N, I can assure you, he will protect you at all costs.”

“Like I’m a piece of property?” she tossed out as she wiped down a chair across the bar.

“Because you’re deserving of it. You’d be working for him and he protects what’s his,” Natalia explained.

“I’ll talk to you later,” she sighed, tossing the rag behind the counter after looking at the clock. “Sam’s expecting me early.” Plus she didn’t want to hear anymore about Barnes. He was looming in her life.

Natalia watched in silence as the songstress prepared her coat over her shoulders before charging out into the wintry air.

Sam didn’t need her to be at the bar for another three hours but she couldn’t stand to be around Natalia right now. Her friend was pushing her into working for someone like that. No matter what Natalia had said, she knew better. Bucky Barnes was nothing more than a murderer. There was no way in hell, she’d work for a man like that, even if there was some extra money.

“You’re early!” Sam exclaimed in surprise as she walked through the doors, shaking the coat away from her shoulders.

“Where are Wanda and Pietro?” She asked, looking for the set of twins as Wanda usually practiced a set of songs on stage while her brother played the piano.

“Wanda’s taking care of her mother and little Petey went to run an errand for me.”

Nodding in acknowledgement, she silently pointed to a beer bottle.

Sam grabbed for it and placed it down in front of her. “How’d Nick and the other two treat you after you left?”

She ran her middle finger around the neck of the bottle before speaking carefully, ”Nick scares me, constantly standing over me. There’s just something about him that I don’t like and I certainly don’t trust him.”

Sam scoffed. “That’s how everyone feels about the man. He holds himself on a higher pedestal than everyone around him including Bucky.”

“Steve seemed like he was frightened, though.” She blinked at Sam.

“Nah,” he waved a hand. “Trust me, small as the man is, he can fight pretty well, and he’s fantastic at killing people. He’s got no conscience to look for in that small body of his.”

“And Clint?” she hesitated to ask knowing Clint’s relationship with Natalia.

“He’s the smartest one of the three in my opinion,” Sam stated, pouring a shot for himself before throwing it into his mouth and swallowing it down. “He’s dangerous when he’s angry, however, so don’t get on his bad side. He’s worse than Barnes when it comes to anger.”

“How do you know?” she asked.

“Trust me,” replied Sam, a dark expression spread along his face for a moment before it disappeared completely.

“Nick said Barnes wanted me to sing for him,” she nibbled on her lip again, avoiding Sam’s gaze. What she wasn’t expecting was a clap of happiness and a hoot of joy.  _Why was everyone rooting against her?_

“Take it, love,” he encouraged her. “It was a matter of time before he came to recruit you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she questioned, squinting her eyes in accusation.

He chuckled. “I’ve been begging Buck to come scout you for weeks. You deserve better than I could ever give you, darlin’.”

“Sam!” she sat back in an accusing tone.

“What?” he asked innocently. “You deserve better than myself and Natalia could ever give you. You’re killing yourself working two jobs to support yourself.  And working for James, you won’t have to worry about any of that. Money won’t be a problem with him.”

“D’you know if his goons will be here tonight?” she sighed out in dread. It was worth a shot and Sam seemed to think it was a good idea. Maybe she should give in.

“I can’t know everything, darlin’,” he shrugged.

Standing up from the chair, she sighed heavily again.  “I guess I’ll spend time backstage getting ready, yeah?”

Sam smiled as she walked away from him, making her way backstage. She was humming a soft tune to herself as she entered her dressing room, never noticing the other presence in the room.

Sitting down on the bench in front of her vanity, she rested her forehead on the cold surface hoping it would provide some clarity. She was feeling so utterly conflicted and she couldn’t decide what to do. It seemed as though both Sam and Natalia wanted her to work for Bucky Barnes, the man who had murdered her mother. And they both knew this fact. But still, they pushed her anyway. Yes, she knew Bucky could give her everything she ever desired. He could pay for her house. He could give her all the money she ever desired. But was working for a criminal really worth it?

She adored Sam and the bar patrons. Mostly, Sam had her deal with an older crowd, which was always such a relief when she had arrived after dealing with some crook in Natalia’s bar. Sam’s bar was home to her, it had been for years. And to think about leaving here, well, it didn’t put a smile on her face that was for certain.

She started singing for Sam when she was only seven years old. Her father had introduced her to the hobby and she had fallen in love with it over time. Eventually, as she’d grown older, she developed a love for broadway and wanted to perform on stage one day.

As she was lost in her thoughts, she still hadn’t noticed the presence in the room until he let out a soft cough. She snapped her head up and reached for a weapon on the vanity until she noticed the man’s reflection.

“It’s nice to finally be able to see you up close, dollface,” he chuckled lightly as he pulled his bowler’s hat from his head and placed it on his kneecap. He had a lit cigarette hanging from the left side of his mouth and he took it out once she looked at him. She knew instantly who he was, no introduction was needed.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded. “Who let you back here? You’re not supposed to be here.”

“That’s not something you need to worry about, now is it?” His eyes gleamed with excitement. “I’ve come to ask you if you’d thought about my offer.”

Turning around, she glared at him. “You’re not going to stop, are you?” she asked, reaching behind her, hoping to grasp something sharp in case he tried to step towards her.

“Have you thought about my offer?” Barnes asked, leaning back on the couch, crossing his legs.

“You killed my mom,” she lashed out, feeling anger rise within her body.

“Did I?” He blinked, taking the cigarette out of his mouth once again before flashing a toothy grin. Barnes wasn’t bothering to take her seriously.

“Years ago,” she began, balling her hands into fists. “She was walking home and a car bomb exploded, killing her instantly. I was a fucking child. Imagine that, a young child gets told her mother’s body parts were spread out all over a street in dusty Brooklyn, caused by a car exploding within meters of where she stood.”

His calm demeanor nearly had her wanting to explode - there was no reaction from him.  “I did nothing of the sort, dollface.”

“Bullshit,” she growled out. “You killed her years ago. I was barely eight years old. A car bomb killed her.”

“I can’t say I recall that, honey.”

The rage was coursing through her by that point. “Then I guess the car just wanted to explode out of nowhere?” Her voice was getting louder by the moment and she knew the consequences of having an attitude with the King of Brooklyn. But she was too far gone at that point. Her anger had been held in check for far too long. She’d always wanted this moment to come. “She stepped on a crack and it triggered some sort of bomb inside the car, perhaps?”

He never moved, his expression never changing once. He appeared to listen though. He opened his mouth but she cut him off instantly with a finger as she held her ground in front of Barnes. “I wasted years of my life wishing I could take my ma’s place. She didn’t deserve to die like that! And it’s your fault that she’s not sitting out there cheering me on while I sing!” She was seeing red and nothing else as she lost complete control of her mouth and mind. “So whatever you want from me, you can stick it up your precious ass.” She roughly turned around, well aware now that her mascara had run down her face. Scowling at her reflection, she grabbed for a tissue and wiped away the make up. “You can take your leave now.” Glowering at Bucky’s reflection with as much hatred as she could muster, she waited.

He removed his hat from his leg and placed it back on his head with the slightest of tilts. Taking the cigarette from his lip, Bucky stubbed it down on the table in front of him, leaving it there as he stood up. He exited the room without so much as a whisper.

 _What in the world did I get myself into?_  she thought to herself as she let her head drop for a moment before getting ready to fix the makeup on her face. She glanced at the clock and sighed as she noticed she still had over an hour until she was due on stage. She finished fixing her makeup before leaving the dressing room and walking over to Sam again.

“You look horrible,” he stated by way of greeting.

“Gee, thanks,’’ she snarked back, though she smiled.

“Here.” Sam tugged the rag from his shoulder and handed it over.

Carefully, she dabbed at her cheeks and eyelids before tossing the rag back at Sam. “Mind telling me how the hell the King of Brooklyn got into my dressing room?”

“Excuse me?” inquired Sam incredulously, creasing his brows in confusion.

“He was sitting on my couch when I walked in,” she explained. “He wanted an answer from me.”

“And?” he pressed. “What was your verdict?”

“I told him he can shove it up his precious ass.”

“Darlin’,” he spoke. “What did you tell him?” Sam was hoping she hadn’t really told him that.

“I went off on him for killing my mother when I was a child, Sam,” she explained. “What else was I supposed to do? Work for a man who murdered my family?”

“Sometimes, life works in ways you’d least expect it, Y/N.” He shrugged. “Did he threaten you?”

“No.” She shook her head. “In fact, he left without saying much else. He seemed to accept my declination.”

“That’s unlike him,” Sam mused aloud, pulling two shot glasses from under the counter and placing them in front of them. “Want to try a new whiskey my ma sent over this morning?”

“Sure,” she shrugged, watching as Sam uncorked the bottle and poured the liquid into the glasses.

He grabbed one, causing her to grab the other one. They clinked their glasses together before taking them down in one breath. She nearly gagged at the repulsive taste, but he only smirked in pride.

“What the hell is this?”

“Moonshine,” he winked. “It’s illegal in twenty one states and most countries in Europe.”

“It’s foul,” she grimaced, pushing the glass away from her.

“But it hits quick if you drink more than one shot.” Sam pushed another shot in front of her.

She declined with a soft laugh. “I can’t, Sam. I have to get ready for the set in an hour.” He nodded and began wiping down the counter where alcohol had spilled. “Be on the lookout for his goons, will you?”

He hummed in agreement as she walked back to her dressing room.

Just an hour now till a show time and she felt like she was a million years old, her emotions all over the place. Reapplying the necessary makeup first, she quickly changed into a shimmering dress, strapping on the matching heels for it. Once she had felt satisfied with her make up and dress, she smiled at her reflection and walked back out, this time, she walked onto the stage where Pietro had appeared and was currently fixing the mic stand.

“Y/N!” the young man greeted her with a grin as she tapped on his shoulder. He hugged her in greeting, squeezing her slightly. “You look beautiful as always.”

“Thank you,” she smirked, winking at him.

“You’re going to do wonderful tonight, Y/N,” he complimented as he stepped away from the mic stand before allowing her to step up. Pietro excused himself so he could do a bit more adjusting on it to fit her height. “You’re going to be great tonight, Y/N, I just know it!” he reiterated. With the adjustments done, Pietro stepped around to sit behind a piano.

She didn’t have long to wait until Pietro’s soft medley begun playing out a Christmas song. Her singing continued for over an hour before she finally ceased, stepping away from the mic, earning applause from the audience.

She felt happy with this performance. She had taken requests from a few audience members, which is something she had never done before. In return, she had sung her heart out, smiling, swaying, and singing until her voice cracked. It was only when her throat had gone dry that she knew it was time to take a break. The audience applauded for her as she made her way to Sam’s bar for a drink.

She was grabbing for Sam’s attention when she heard a familiar cough from from behind her.

“You sounded as beautiful as ever, doll,” James Barnes spoke. She didn’t have to turn around to match the voice to the face. Shadows from his goons reflected on the glossy bar.

“I already told you and your goons more than once,” she spoke as she grit her teeth, trying not to make a scene. “I would rather choke to death than be associated with you.”

“Oh doll,” James chuckled, waving his goons away.  He fumbled around in his pocket for a pack of smokes, locating them almost immediately. Pulling out the pack, Bucky took a cigarette out, lighting it up in his mouth before taking a puff and blowing out the smoke into the air. “You must think I’m playing around.” He laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “I promise you, you will work for me sooner rather than later. I don’t give up, so why don’t you give in?” Sitting down next her her, Bucky tapped on the bar to grab Sam’s attention.

Sam perked up at the sound before letting a small smile curl the corner of his lips as he walked over to the pair of them. “What can I get you, sir?”

She rolled her eyes and waved Sam off, declining the offer. Bucky, however, requested his finest and most expensive bottle of brandy. Sam nodded and walked down the bar to fix the drinks. As Barnes tried to disarm her with his most charming smile, she glared at him.

“What the fuck is your problem? I’ve already told you my answer, no.” Immediately, she knew she had stepped over a boundary as fire flared behind his blue irises. He held up a hand to his goons who had stood up at the sound of her outburst.

“Doll,” he chuckled, clearly unamused at the sudden quietness of the bar. “My problem is that you’re missing an excellent opportunity to work for me. You couldn’t imagine the shit I could buy for you. You’d live like a goddamned queen in my presence and you’re a damned fool to turn it down.” His irises flared for another moment as she stared at him before he looked away from her.

She continued to stare at him with a scowl on her face, a frown etched on her pretty face. A long moment after Barnes had turned his gaze away from her, the bar chatter had started up once again. Her observation of the mobster continued even as Sam set down the drinks in front of them.

Barnes was vile and cruel - she didn’t want or need to be associated with someone like him. He killed people for the hell of the game. He killed her mother. She didn’t want a penny from him. Being poor with morals was better than living like a queen at the expense of her mother’s memory.

He took his glass and threw it into the back of his mouth, finally looking at her with a smirk. “Drink up, doll,” Barnes demanded softly as he leaned into her ear. His breath felt hot on her ear, discomfort snaking up her spine.

Finally to his satisfaction, she obeyed him, clinking the glass down on the bartop harder than necessary. “Happy, pig?” she threw out, trying to cover the fact that he had made her somewhat hot and bothered.

“See?” he looked too amused for her liking. “How hard was that?”

“Get the fuck away from me,” she grit her teeth.

“You might want to quiet that spunky little mouth of yours if you know what’s good for you.” Another threat uttered in her ear.

“Barnes!” Sam’s voice came to her rescue.

“Wilson,” James said when he looked up. “I’ll see you at the poker game later tonight?”

“Yeah,” Sam agreed as Barnes stood up and motioned for his goons to follow him out of the bar.  A moment later, Sam rounded on her. “Y/N, you need to watch what you say in front of him. He’s a dangerous man and you could have gotten into some serious trouble. His patience is running thin.”

“If you think I’m going to allow that man to treat me like I’m unworthy of respect, then you need to check yourself, Sam,” she retorted. “I refuse to be treated like I’m unworthy of anything less than what I deserve and that man doesn’t deserve me.”

Sam sighed and wiped at his face, hanging his head over the bar. “Look, he’s a piece of shit. That’s something I can’t deny. But if you work for him, I swear it, he’ll change for you. He wants you to sing for him and nothing more. That’s it.”

“No,” she declined again. Truthfully, she couldn’t understand why Sam and Natalia were trying to so hard to get her to work for him. They both knew he was scum of the earth and undeserving of his Mobster King title. “What will become of your bar if I work for Barnes?”

“Wanda will sing, she’s been wanting to do it for years now,” answered Sam.

“What about Natalia’s place?” She pressed on.

“She can run the bar perfectly fine with or without your help, darlin’.”

It was a losing battle and everyone was stacked against her. Barnes was a scumbag, yet everyone around her seemed to be pressuring her into working for him. And she knew she’d have to give in, no matter what everyone around her said, otherwise she really would end up dead.


	3. Chapter 3

She was standing in some elaborate casino, which Barnes apparently ran and operated. On her left stood Clint, on her right stood Steve. Clint was counting out bills while Steve seemed to be casing the place. At least Fury wasn’t around - she was already intimidated enough. The two men had brought her here to meet with Bucky, but he was currently on one of the upper floors in a meeting with some asshole. Wasting her time seemed to be a habit of his. She was only a singer for him, right? Nothing more, nothing less.

But if that was the case, why was she meeting him in a casino and not a bar where he owned the joint? The set up just didn’t make any damned sense to her and it gave her the shakes.

She stood, tapping one of her heels as she waited for Bucky to arrive. Patience was not her strong point today especially since neither Clint nor Steve would give her a damned response as to what the hell they were doing here.

_It hadn’t been long after speaking with Sam that she decided maybe if Barnes was going to make her play the game, then she would play by her rules. Maybe Sam tipped him off or maybe Barnes was just impatient, but two nights later, Steve and Clint were back at her home. Rushing her into the car Barnes had sent for her, she barely had time to grab a coat. Barnes was at a poker game and had specifically requested her presence._

_“Buck, she’s here,” Steve announced as he approached the King at the poker table, where he was surrounded by multiple associates._

_James looked up with an agitated expression momentarily before he recognized her standing next to Steve, a deep grimace spread across her face. His annoyed frown turned into a cheeky grin as he looked her up and down. “So, doll,” he started, ignoring the men at the table around him. “I see you’ve finally come to your senses.”_

_“Like I had a damned choice in the matter!” she snapped at him. “Your damned goons showed up at my house and practically threw me in the car.”_

_The laughter that had surrounded the table became silent as the words left her mouth. It became deafening as it lasted for several seconds, many of the men at the table becoming uncomfortable. They all seemed to subtly shift as if expecting Barnes to fly off the handle. She didn’t give a damn what had happened to her in that moment. Her temper was barely being held in check by her desire to win the endgame. Bucky was smirking now, proudly. He had won the round and he knew it. He had every damned right to be as cheeky and slimy as he chose to be. “Take a seat, doll. Come on,” he urged, patting his thigh for her._

_“Fu-”_

_“We can do all that good stuff later, doll.” The glint in his eye was murderous and she nearly shivered at the dangerous undertone. The game was in full force and she felt petrified, though if anyone had asked her, she would have denied her fears wholeheartedly. “Now, come sit.” There was no room for argument_

_“Do as he says, Y/N, or you’ll regret it,” Steve mumbled in her ear as he turned around to walk out of the room. Deferring to Barnes, Steve gave her a just-barely gentle nudge in the mobster’s direction._

_She chewed on her tongue as she slunk over to him and sat on his lap. With more force than necessary, she threw an elbow into his ribcage as she had shifted to be seated more comfortably. Bucky Barnes was altogether too comfortable and she nearly stood up, but she found herself planted on his thigh as he had an arm wrapped around her waist, the material of her dress gripped tightly in his fingers._

_“There,” he said, smiling at her, though she knew it was only for show. She could see the fire burning ever so presently beneath those baby blue eyes of his. “All better now?”_

_Biting down on her tongue was the only way she could refrain from the string of swearing that so close to coming out. She was surely tasting the iron blood in her mouth. But still, she refused to say a word. It wouldn’t do a damned thing even if she had wasted her breath on insulting him. He would probably get off on the thought of it later that night as he laid by himself maybe with the comfort of another poor lady to use and dispose of whenever he pleased._

_“You my good luck charm tonight, huh?” he laughed out minutes later once he noticed he had won the pot from the middle of the table, earning grunts of annoyance from the other poker players around the table. She remained silent as Barnes leaned in to swipe his lips across her cheek._

_“Stand up,” he said lightly, patting the small of her back. She was more than happy to obey that command. Leaning back, Barnes appraised her._

_“What?” hissing she crossed her arms over her chest._

_“Is that the best dress you have?” inquired Barnes, looking it up and down with utter disgust. “Where’s that dress you wore when President Truman was in town last year, that red one that shimmered in the spotlight?”_

_“I tossed it.” She smirked, though it was a lie. The mobster before her would never have the privilege of seeing her in that dress. It was reserved for special occasions and Barnes was far from that._

_“I’ll have Stevie and Clint take you shopping. How does that sound?” he grinned, snapping his fingers to get the attention of his men._

_“It’s the middle of the night, Barnes. Ain’t nothing open now.”_

_“Maybe for you,” Bucked stated pointedly. “You must not know how close I run this city, doll.”_

_“Who in their right mind would be awake at this hour? For shopping no less?”_

_“Someone who would love to live ‘till tomorrow.” He looked around at the sound of someone approaching him. “Ah, Clint. There you are. How about you and Stevie take little Miss Foul Mouth here out shopping for a new wardrobe? I want her in something better.”_

_Clint nodded. “Where’s Steve?”_

_“Not sure. Check in the office.”_

_Clint nodded again, beckoning to her. She gratefully moved away from Barnes as she followed Clint out of the room._

_“He means well.” Clint had spoken finally, clipped tones, but it was something from the man who usually kept quiet._

_“He’s always looking at me like he wants to eat me alive,” she deadpanned easily thankful to be away from Barnes finally._

_Clint laughed lightly at that. “You should feel honored. He doesn’t get affectionate with women too often unless he plans to bed them and throw them away to the wolves.”_

_“He’s too good looking to be in a stable relationship.” It was meant to be a sarcastic comment but Clint either ignored her sarcasm or missed it completely._

_“You ain’t kiddin’ ‘bout that, Y/N,” Clint agreed as he turned a corner and opened the door to peek in. “Stevie, you in?”_

_A muffled response had Clint huffing with impatience. “Well where is he? D’you know?”_

_Another muffled response._

_Clint walked out of the room, beckoning her by his side. She rushed to his side again as he spoke up. “Looks as though I’ll be taking you shopping myself, doll.”_

_“You don’t have to…” She felt terrible for making him take her shopping at such a late hour of the night. There were bags under his eyes and he looked disheveled - wrinkled clothes and shoes that could use some shining. Exhaustion played across his features._

_Chuckling, Clint waved her comment away. “Yes, I do. Barnes’ll kill me if I don’t obey him.”_

_She wanted to believe that it was merely a crude joke, but she knew Barnes was a demon walking among humans in this world. He’d kill Clint without so much as a moment of hesitation. “Where are you taking me?” she’d decided on asking. That was hopefully a safe topic._

_“A small little shop called Simply Dresses.” Clint smiled gently as they finally made their way out of the stuffy building. He escorted the songstress down the street to a black vehicle, different from the one she had arrived in. Clint held the door open as she slid gracefully into the backseat. He sat in the driver’s seat and adjusted the rear view mirror. “Buckled in, sweetheart?” It wasn’t much of a question, it was a warning. She nodded and double checked to be positive that the seat belt had been buckled in correctly._

_The car ride was silent and thankfully they arrived the shop quickly. She greeted the worker as Clint directed her to a rack of expensive-looking dresses. She picked out five of them quickly before Clint walked over to the register and paid for the bundle.They left just as quickly as they had arrived. In hindsight, she should have taken more joy in spending Barnes’ money but the whole evening was peculiar._

_Clint sat back in the driver’s seat and drove her back to her home, stopping a short distance away. He and Stevie had already been seen there twice, it wouldn’t do to be seen again in the same evening. Nevertheless, Clint had to get Barnes’ new plaything home._

_“Oh, no. Please,” she declined as she had stood away from the car and stretched her limbs._

_Clint stopped midway from getting out of the car and looked at her with uncertainty._

_She laughed lightly. “Please, I’ll be okay. It’s hardly a walk to my house from here.”_

_He nodded. “Good night, sweetheart. I’ll come pick you up in the morning.”_

_“For?” she asked curiously as she stepped onto the sidewalk._

_“The boss wants you over at the casino. I’ll be here promptly at 10 come morning.”_

_She sighed but acquiesced. “Good night, Clint.”_

And now, she was currently standing in Barnes’ casino, waiting impatiently for the jackass to finish what he was doing so he could meet with her. Steve had become increasingly fidgety while the small group waited around. He’d been checking his watch every three seconds now.

“Steve, you okay?” she asked him as sweetly as possible. The skinny man was making her start to fidget. He remained silent, still checking his watch as the songstress turned to Clint. “Hey, Clint, what are we even doing here? Is this jackass going to show up anytime soon?”

He smirked. “You got someplace else to be, doll? He’ll show up. He wanted to showcase you to someone.”

“Who?” she demanded, not enjoying the tone of his voice or the smirk on his face.

“Anthony Stark.”

“Excuse me?” she asked in disbelief. Barnes was bad enough, but Stark, too?

“Buck enjoys gloating about any new ladies he acquires; he sees it as a taunt to Stark.”

“I’m not one of his whores, Clint. I’m fu-”

Clint grabbed for her hand before she had the chance to spin around and walk off. “You’re still here. Trust me, if you were one of his previous girls, he would have fucked you raw the same night.”

“What makes you think he hasn’t already?” she threw at him. Obviously Clint knew she hadn’t slept with Barnes, but she couldn’t resist the taunting.

“Because you’re still able to walk properly.” Smirking as if the devil had inhabited his body, Clint gave a low chuckle.

“Trust me, it’s not about sex with you,” he stated as he released her arm. He started speaking again before a whistle interrupted him. He turned his head and a slight frown fell on his lips. “Stark.”

Anthony Stark. So this was the man Bucky wanted to show her off to, eh? She wasn’t impressed with him at all because there wasn’t much to be impressed by. Disgust, however, didn’t take long to flood every sense she had. He dressed in a red three piece suit with his jet black hair slicked to one side. Stark even had the gall to wear sunglasses inside.

She knew he couldn’t be trusted the minute he opened his mouth and spoke to her. He made her feel more disgusted than Bucky had in the last week.

“You must be Buchanan’s new lay, huh?” He scoffed as he took his glasses away from his face, showing off his chocolate brown eyes.

“I’m no one’s property,” she declared as she forced herself to stay calm.

“Hmm,” he hummed. “I see. My name is Tony Stark. Do you mind if I take you away from these two gentlemen for a moment?”  
“Whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of them.” She crossed her arms. Unbelieveable. Barnes’ goons were her only protection against the moron in front of her.

Clint sighed heavily but she paid no attention to him. She stood her ground until Tony smiled wide. “Why don’t you come work for me, huh?” He got straight to the point. “I’m sure ol’ Barnes wouldn’t treat you half as good as I could, baby.”

“Screw off,” she spat out. She was already working for a scumbag she couldn’t stand to be around. Trading one devil for another wasn’t a risk she was about to take.

“Stark, don’t bother,” a voice she’d never imagined she’d ever be relieved to hear spoke. A moment later, Barnes came in view from around a slot machine looking exhausted. It was odd to feel relief when looking at Barnes, but that’s exactly what she felt when he stepped around Stark to stand next to her.

Disgusted with herself, she shimmied into Bucky’s embrace as he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close to his side.

Tony’s gleeful expression fell the moment he’d seen her tuck herself into Bucky’s arms. “You’re fucking around with the wrong crowd, bitch,” he spat. Whatever it was about Bucky with her, it made Stark storm out of the casino.

She hardly registered her lip trembling until Bucky had stroked her cheek with a finger. She hadn’t noticed she had followed Stark’s exit out with her eyes, either.

“Why was he here, Barnes?” she asked, snapping out of her reverie and stepping away from his grip, which he allowed.

“I had a business proposition for him, never you mind,” Barnes explained. “And before you ask, no, I wasn’t planning on trading you to him.”

“Did you only have me waiting here so I’d be around when he left this place? And I’m a human being, not a pawn to be traded!” She couldn’t help but to feel as though Bucky was using her for some gain.

“C’mon, boys,” he directed to Steve and Clint, ignoring her last statement as he walked out of the casino. “Steve, walk with me. Clint, take her to my penthouse for dinner, will you?”

Clint nodded as Bucky and Steve walked off in the opposite direction of his penthouse condo.


	4. Chapter 4

She awoke at the crack of dawn with the sky outside of Natalia’s window displaying pink and orange, hardly a white cloud in sight. She wondered for a long moment why she had woken so early before she remembered she had a dinner date with Barnes later that evening. In only a few hours, Two Tone would be picking her up.

Sinking into Natalia’s couch for another long moment, she sighed heavily as she heaved herself away from the warmth and comfort of the thick wool blanket. The nights were still cold and she shivered as her bare feet hit the wooden floor. Getting ready would not be enjoyable in that temperature. By the time she had walked into the kitchen for her morning coffee, Natalia was atop the counter eating a small plate of eggs and bacon.

“I figured Bucky would be ever the gentleman he is and cook you breakfast once you went to his penthouse,” Natalia explained around a mouthful of food.

“Thanks.” Rubbing sleep from her eyes, the songstress admitted, “Nat, I’m scared.”

“Of what?” her friend asked as she placed the plate next to her. “It’s only dinner. sweetheart. If he wanted to poison you, trust me, he would have done it by now.”

“There’s just something off about him, Nat.” She shook her head as she attempted to push the hesitation away. “I could have sworn he walked into the employee area with a woman while I was performing last night and it made me-”

“You’re jealous, aren’t you?” the redhead cut her off, a smirk creeping onto her face.

“No!” the songstress denied immediately, though she knew it was the truth. She was hurt for reasons she couldn’t begin to understand. She was only a worker, not a girlfriend of his or a lover in any definition of the term. Their relationship revolved around employment. That was it.

So why had it bothered her so much? It could have just been the lights shining in her eyes that made her see another figure standing next to Bucky. He ran a casino and plenty of bar fronts. Of course men and women would surround him, right? So why the fuck was she suspicious?

Her thoughts were cut short by the knock on the door, followed by Natalia’s phone ringing on the kitchen wall. She looked over at her friend, who sighed and jumped from the counter to answer the phone. “She’s right he- oh, hi Clint. Yeah, she’s dressed and ready to go. Okay, talk to you later, bub.”

“Is he coming?” she asked, picking at her nails to try and calm her nerves.

“Clint should be outside momentarily, actually; he was already on his way here when Barnes-” Natalia was interrupted by another knock echoing throughout the house. The redhead smiled as Y/N jumped at the noise before the two strolled through the hallway. Natalia opened the door and grinned cheekily at Steve as he stood on the threshold, a bouquet of flowers in his right hand. He looked uncomfortable, as usual. But by now, the songstress was used to his reserved attitude.

“Good morning Two Tone,” greeted Natalia, looking him up and down.

“Knock it off, Nat.” she punched her friend’s arm lightly. “You’re being weird and it’s awkward.”

“Suit yourself, Y/N.” Abruptly, the redhead turned and left the pair on the doorstep.

“Barnes requested I bring a bouquet for you. I’m sorry if you don’t like them - I’m unaware of your favorites.”

“These are beautiful!” She smiled, taking the bouquet out of his hands and inhaling them deeply. At the dreamy look on her face, Steve looped their arms together to escort her down the street where he had parked the car. Opening the passenger door for her, he waited until she was seated comfortably before closing the door and taking the driver’s seat. He wanted to get to Bucky’s penthouse and be done with it for the day.

The drive was short and silent as usual. He parked in the garage and escorted her to the door of Bucky’s penthouse despite her protests. He ignored her pleas and knocked on Bucky’s door before it swung open to reveal a hungover and disheveled Bucky. The mobster was a wreck, no shirt in sight and trousers that needed laundering.

She couldn’t stop herself from glossing over his toned body, hating herself for it as he mumbled a hoarse greeting to the pair. Steve ducked his head in acknowledgment, strolling away after Bucky handed him a stack of bills.

“Rough night, huh?” She asked as she threw her coat on the back of the couch. Flopping on it, she crossed her legs as Bucky stalked behind her, rubbing at his eyes and yawning.

“I was up most of the night making phone calls around the city. Stark was giving me the wrap around and it-”

Something was off. “What time did you go to bed?” she interrupted as he pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes and rubbed. “Do you want coffee? I can make a pot if you’d like?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled, stifling another yawn as she stood up and made her way to the kitchen to brew his coffee. Dark, no cream, three sugars. Too bittersweet for her tastes.

“What business are you doing with Tony, anyway? I feel like I have a right to know things like this.”

“You don’t,” he gruffed out, sending her an irritated look. “You don’t need to know every aspect of my life, Y/N. You’re a singer for me, not my wife or my mistress as you so kindly remind me at every opportunity.” His patronizing tone set something off inside her.

“Don’t start with your bullshit, Barnes,” she lashed out as she poured his coffee. “You’re bullshit - full of it and yourself.”

“And you’re a jealous whore who wants me but refuses to fucking admit it,” Bucky snapped back, taking the cup out of her hands. It was like drinking ash but Bucky needed to calm his nerves.

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,”  she stated, denying her feelings for the man.

“Then I suppose Natalia lied to me last night, huh?” His scowl was fierce and the songstress started to shrink in on herself. “She called me after you went to bed and told me you had feelings for me, so go ahead and deny it, baby girl. I know you feel some type of way for me. And Natalia wouldn’t lie to me. So why are you?” he scoffed. “How could you fall for a man who supposedly killed your mother when you were a little girl? You’re nothing more than a hypocrite and a whore.”

She wanted to scream and shout. Betrayal burned in her gut, hurt shaking her heart at Natalia telling him this information. Her most trusted confidant had just shattered her faith. After all, yes, she found Barnes utterly handsome, albeit repulsive in his grimy lifestyle. Conflicting feelings battled in her daily. Why had she ever put herself in this position? She was a fool. She never should have allowed Steve and Clint to take her away from her house that morning. She never should have allowed Sam to convince her to work for this man. Fool.

Her silence appeared to appease Barnes. “Go put that silver dress on for me, I’m taking you out for breakfast.”

“I already ate,” she lied.

He threw her a dangerous eye before gritting his teeth. “Why are you so difficult to be around?”

“Because I refuse to allow some slimeball to control me,” she replied. “You asked me for dinner, not a whole fucking day with you.”

“Fine, I’ll take the boys with me, since you want to act like a child.” He walked over to the bedroom and grabbed a shirt from his closet. As he shimmied into it and walked over to the front door, he seethed, anger radiating off of him. “You better fix your tone before I return or I swear, you’re in for it.”

“Fuck off,” she spat. She should have poisoned his damned coffee.

******

“I’m tellin’ you!” Bucky shook his head as he, Clint, and Steve sat around the diner table. “She’s acting as if we’re married, man.”

Clint smirked as he lifted the menu from the table, skimming the breakfast items as he listened in. Bucky only had himself to blame for this.

Surprisingly, Steve spoke up first, “She’s feisty. Sam warned you of that when he first offered her to you.”

“I’m losing my mind with her,” Bucky admitted as a waitress came with water and bread for them before Bucky waved her off, silently telling her they weren’t ready to order.

“She’s good business,” Clint offered. “You can’t deny that. Look at the casino. It hasn’t had this much business in months. She comes around and people fall over themselves to hear her voice.”

Bucky nodded. “Yeah.”

“But is she worth the troubling mouth?” Steve asked as he grabbed a napkin out of the dispenser and started tearing it apart, the torn pieces falling on the table before he wiped them away onto the floor. It was the nervous tick he’d never been able to break.

“I’d love a taste of her foul mouth, honestly,” Bucky laughed out, leaning back and stretching out his legs as the waitress came around once more. “Two Tone, Clint, you ready to order?”

“I’ll have the sunny side with a side of bacon and home fries,” Steve politely requested, handing over the unopened menu.

“Flapjacks for me,” ordered Clint. “Coke, please, as well.”

“Sir?” the waitress asked, turning to face Bucky as she wrote the orders down on her pad.

“A bacon and egg sandwich, please.”

“I’ll have it out in a jiffy!” she replied as she scurried back to the kitchen.

“Jessica Jones,” Clint mumbled under his breath as he watched her disappear behind the counter.

“She’s not my type, Clint,”  Bucky stated, already knowing what his comrade was getting at.

“Why not? Murdock had her and told me she’s well worth it.”

“He’s blind,” Steve pointed out. “Poor man wouldn’t know good from terrible if it caused his sight to come flying back to his head.”

“I’ll take her then,” Clint declared. “Since you both want to be sore losers about it.”

Rolling his eyes, Steve turned the conversation back to more pressing matter. “Have you and Y/N  shared a bed yet?”

Bucky shook his head forlornly. “She won’t allow it to happen. She honestly seems repulsed by me at times.” Shoving a hand through his hair, he chuckled humorlessly. “But I think it’s because she’s in complete denial.”

“Get her drunk like you did when you convinced her to move in with you.” Clint smirked remembering the breakfast after that night.

“I did that to help her out, Barton, nothing more was expected.” Bucky licked his lips as he mimicked Steve’s earlier motions and grabbed for a napkin before tearing it into pieces. Just like his right hand man, Bucky pushed them onto the floor beside the table. “I want her, but I’m in no rush for it, honestly. I’ve got a few things on the side.”

“Is Dot still in the picture?” Steve pried.

“Of course she is,” Bucky sneered. “Girl’s got legs for miles. Why would I toss her to the side for a woman who refuses to be in a room with me for more than two minutes?”

“One of you will get hurt and the aftermath is something I refuse to be apart of,” Steve claimed as his food was placed in front of him.

“Say, sweetheart,” Clint started with a grin to Jessica. “Can I meet you after your shift is over?”

“No, thank you,” the waitress answered sweetly.

“Hey, sweetheart?” Bucky blinked, showing his pearly white grin. “I suggest you accept his offer.” He casually stretched, showcasing his gun tucked into the waistline of his pants.

She visibly swallowed, eyeing the gun before nodding. “I get off at six.”

Bucky smiled, adjusting his jacket. “Hurry along now,” he dismissed her.

She quickly walked back to the kitchen, out of sight.

“You’re welcome.” Bucky looked pointedly at Clint.

“Smooth.” Clint grinned as though he was pleased with his date.

The rest of breakfast was full of discussion about the upcoming meetings with Tony Stark, the songstress forgotten for the time being.

*****  
“Y/N?” Bucky called out as he opened the door to his penthouse hours after the three men had finished breakfast. It was the afternoon once he returned, having gone back to the casino for a few hours. Bucky had arranged in that morning with Dot, an office upstairs for them while Steve patrolled the floor and Clint worked the bar.

He stepped into the living room as he heard her speaking on the phone in the bedroom. As he stepped closer, however, her voice ceased and she had stepped into the living room, smiling at him. “I was expecting you back hours ago.” Her rage appeared to have dissipated.

“We stopped at the casino for a little while. I’d wanted to check around, count some bills. How was your afternoon?”

“It was going great until you came home,” she spoke, though the smile was still ghosting along her lips. Nevermind. The anger was still there, simmering barely below the surface.

“Safe to say you welcomed my absence then?” He smirked, shrugging off his jacket before placing it on the back of the couch next to her coat. He began working at his shirt next, pulling it over his head.

“I already miss the silence,” she spoke, though Bucky caught the hitch in her voice as he folded the shirt and place it atop his jacket. It was about appearance - dress the part and command respect. Another button up was what he needed, the stale cigarette stench getting to his head.

“I say we head to dinner about six, yeah?” he called out, peeking around the bedroom door as he buttoned his shirt before he toed off his shoes only to replace them with another pair.

“Is it necessary that I dress up? Or is it a casual affair?” his songstress huffed out.

“Wear a simple dress, doesn’t need to be fancy or anything.” He needed a drink. Something stiff would be nice, but Bucky wanted to make it through the evening with Y/N. Wine would take the edge off.

“Buck,” she called after him. The sound made him smile as his name fell from her lips in such a soft, musical tone.

“Yes, Y/N?” Bucky responded as he uncorked the wine bottle and poured it into the glass. From the corner of his eye, he could she was wringing her hands. “What’s wrong, Y/N?” Involuntarily, his brows drew together in worry.

“Why are you treating me like this?” questioned Y/N. “I mean, just this morning we had a fight and you’re still willing to take me out to dinner as if nothing happened.”

He shrugged, not seeing the issue she had pointed out. “What’s the issue?” he replied. “We’re adults living in the same house. We fight and we get over it.”

Heaving a sigh, she said nothing more as she walked into the bedroom to change. He followed her but gave her some privacy as he leaned against the door frame while she was in the walk-in closet.

“What’s really on your mind, Y/N? What happened to being so feisty and fight-worthy? You were riled up this morning and now you’re being sweet as pie to me.”

There was no response as she walked out of the closet wearing a simple dress with flats on her feet. “Ready for dinner?” His little songbird had completely glossed over everything Bucky had just asked her.

“No.” Buck grabbed her arm gently as she made her way out of the room, spinning her around to face him. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“You had me waiting around for you all day without a single phone call, Bucky. Clint and Steve were both with you. I was abandoned here,” she explained. Her eyes held an emotion Bucky couldn’t comprehend. “The least you could have done was give me a call saying you weren’t going to be around all day. I felt like a fool waiting and waiting, even hoping for something.”

“Well as you stated plenty of times before, Y/N,” he began slowly, choosing his words carefully, “We’re not dating and you’re not a piece of property. If I had known you’d worry over me, I would have called. If I had known you wanted company, I would have sent one of the guys back.”

Rough, she pulled her arm from his grasp, saying nothing more as he allowed her to walk away in silence. He followed her as she walked out of the door. The walk down to the car wasn’t uncomfortable, but Bucky had wished she would say something, anything. Little did he know she wished the same as she was lost in her thoughts, thinking about the argument that had transpired that morning. She wished it hadn’t happened, that she could forget it especially the scowl on his face as he left.

She thanked him quietly as they had arrived at the garage and he had pulled the car door open for her, waiting until she was comfortable before closing it and settling in behind the wheel. He drove around town for a while, the car radio playing softly to fill the silence in the car. He knew where he would take her, but he didn’t want to eat just yet. Bucky was hungry, but the silence was almost beautiful.  

Soon enough, the pair found themselves sitting in front of a fancy restaurant, one that she knew she could afford only because of Bucky. “I thought you were taking me to a casual dinner?” she teased lightly as Bucky held the door for her so she could stand.

“This is casual,” he chuckled, looping her arm through his own as he guided her into the restaurant. No reservation was needed for James Buchanan Barnes.

“Bucky,” she uttered as they had walked into the tiny setting. Elegant crystal chandeliers were hanging above each round table. The walls were painted in burgundy, the flooring offset with pale grey tone. This was something she’d never thought she’d see in her life.

“Good choice for a casual dinner, huh?” he whispered in her ear as they stepped up to the hostess to be seated.

“This is incredible,” she murmured as the hostess walked them over to a secluded table in the corner of the place. “Bucky, you didn’t have to do something like this.”

“I didn’t,” he agreed. “But I wanted to. All you had to do was decline the offer.”

She scoffed, smiling with a small roll of eyes. “You’re impossible.”

“Anything’s possible, love. Nothing in life is ever set in stone.” He smiled as he looked down at the menu, the fare lost on him. “Pick whatever you wish, darlin’.”

“There’s too many dishes to choose from,” she breathed as she scanned the menu for something simple.

“We can discuss dessert afterwards, yes?” Bucky grinned as a waiter approached with two glasses of water. He was delighted she was happy to be in such a fine establishment.

“Ready to order, sir?”

Bucky motioned for her to go first and coyly, she ordered. The mobster followed suit with his order. It felt like a real date to him. He cocked a brow as she was staring at him with the slightest of smiles on his lips. “What?”

“Everyone seems to respect you and for the life of me, I don’t know if it’s out of fear or just plain respect for a mobster king.”

“A little of both, maybe,” he responded, shifting his legs to a more comfortable position. “As I’ve stated before, dove, I run this city with tight reins; you’d be an utter fool to disrespect me. I could order your head and receive it on a golden platter.”

The same look from earlier crossed her face and Bucky was still at a loss for a label. “I still hate you for killing my mother, Bucky,” the songstress ground out as the sudden spark of emotion fell away. “You can deny it all you want, but I know you were the one responsible for it.”

“It wasn’t me,” he reiterated, just as he had many times before. “What will it take for you to believe that?”

“Nothing,” she stated as the waiter came around with wine and their food. “But I know you were the responsible one.”

“You do realise I would have been about your age when that car bomb exploded, don’t you?” Reason, he’d try reasoning with her. Maybe she’d finally see things his way. “There’s no possible way-”

“Your family was wholly responsible for it. Your mother and father might not be alive right now, but I wholeheartedly blame you and only you for it.” She wanted to argue more, but hunger had gotten the best of her so she started to eat in silence.

 _Why was she so adamant about this?_  Bucky thought to himself as he copied her movements and dug into his food as well.

“I’m sorry, okay?” he mumbled after silence had fallen between the two. “I can’t change the past, but I can certainly hope for a better future between us.”

“There won’t be a future between us, Buck. We’re not a couple, we’re an employer with an employee. I work for you and you pay me, that’s it.” Her voice was soft as she wiped the corners of her mouth with a napkin. “That’s all we will ever be.”

“I know you’ll never give me the chance to prove to you that I’m not a slimeball. That’s an image of me that you’ll never forget,” Bucky admitted, scratching at his cheek with nervous energy. “But I’d just wish you’d let me in, even just a snippet of your life. I’m not asking to be yours, Y/N.  I’m asking for a chance to prove that I’m worth it.” He stared at her once he finished speaking.  “I’m more than the body count on my conscience and I’m more than the money I have stored in my casino. Just let me in. Please.” His songbird turned her head away, attempting to tune out his pleas.

She looked entirely too uncomfortable at the sudden words he spoke, but he waited patiently for her response. Bucky would wait for eternity if meant the sweet woman across from him would give him a chance. As loathsome as she was to admit it to anyone besides Natalia, she did care for the man, her feelings growing moment by moment for him. Her edge in the game was lost now that Bucky knew her feelings thanks to Natalia.

“I can’t, Barnes,” her voice quivering she replied. “I’m sorry.”

He nodded, it was an answer she’d always give him, no matter how much Bucky tried to persuade her otherwise, no matter how patient he was with her. He treated her like a queen and yet Bucky received nothing in return. Barnes hoped waiting out the night, would lead to something, anything.

Bucky had been shocked when his feelings for her hit him but now he desperately wanted another step in their life. He couldn’t see why he was falling for her; he’d only wanted her for her voice, nothing more when Wilson had brought her up months ago. Now Bucky craved her body and soul.

She was falling and so was he. But James Barnes was a mob king - settling down with one lady was not an option. And that’s why he would never give in fully to her; he loved having a different lady in his bed every night.

Independence had been her battle cry since she was a little girl and she wouldn’t settle for anything less than what she deserved. His songbird was a beauty and she damned well knew it. She had a filthy mouth on her, a mouth that Bucky had wanted a taste of for a long time coming.

Bucky had resolved the dilemma to himself. He’d wait and wait for her, no matter how long she took; nobody could resist his charm for too long. It was only a matter of time now, a race against the clock before she gave herself into him.

Dinner was spent mostly in terse silence after that. Every now and then, the songstress would inquire about his time with Tony. After all, from what she gathered, they had been enemies from the start. Why would Bucky spend so much time around him if that was the case? After images of Stark played through her mind, the image of that afternoon in Barnes’ casino when she’d thought she’d seen him in the company of a woman settled at the forefront of her thoughts.

She frowned at the memory and tried to smile again quickly. But she hadn’t quite been fast enough. Bucky had caught sight of it before the frown was hidden away behind her glass of water.

“What’s wrong?” he questioned. “Is there something wrong with the food?”

“No!” A few stray hairs fell into her eyes she shook her head vehemently. “It’s excellent. I just thought of something is all.”

“What is it?” Bucky inquired softly as he took her hand in his own, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. “Tell me.”

“It’s nothing,” she tried again, gently removing her hand from his.

“It doesn’t seem like nothing, Y/N.” Bucky’s prodding was gentle. To him, she was clearly distraught. “C’mon, tell me. I don’t want you to be upset over something that I could probably help you with.”

Thinking quickly, she didn’t have many plausible falsehoods to tell him. “I miss Sam and Natalia,” she lied. It would be nigh impossible for her to ask about a lady on the side. If Bucky had one, it wasn’t her business.

“Why didn’t you say something?” He grinned softly. “I’ll take you over there tomorrow night after your performance.”

Smiling half-heartedly, she knew it was likely Bucky would have another woman in his arms the moment she was gone.

“Are you finished, doll?” asked Bucky after another breath of silence fell between them. She hadn’t touched her plate in a long while.

She nodded and pushed back slightly from the table.

“Would you care for a slice of cheesecake or something sweet?” he offered, pulling out his wallet and fishing out a few large bills. What Bucky had placed on the table would be more than enough. It wasn’t cheap, but Bucky had been coming to this same restaurant since he was a kid. It was worth it.

“No thank you,” she declined softly.

“Well, come on, then.” Standing up, Bucky held out a hand to his songbird. Hesitantly, she took it and the pair walked out of the place.

It was another cold evening despite the heavy coat she wore. Not paying attention, she leaned into Bucky’s side for warmth. He could see her breath in the air - short little puffs of air as they walked together. The pair had been mere feet from the car before Bucky had felt the unmistakable pressure of a gun barrel jammed into his ribcage.

“Give me your wallet and nobody gets hurt,” a man threatened from Bucky’s left.

She hadn’t been paying attention when the armed man approached. Terror fell over her quickly as she wasn’t prepared for this to happen. Never in all her years in the city had anyone ever put a gun up to her.

“Son.” Bucky gave an amused chuckle as he reached behind him and pulled the car door handle. “I suggest you put the gun down. Do you have any idea who I am?”

“I know damned well who you are,” the young man stated. “You killed my uncle in cold blood.”

“Son, I assure you,” Bucky started softly with the grin ever present on his face. “Had I killed him, he rightly well deserved it. What was his name? What’s your name?”

“Ben,” the man spat out. Now that she saw him, he looked younger than she initially thought. His face was thin and he trembled, his finger slipping from the trigger every couple of seconds.

“Your name is Benny? Or was that your uncle’s?”

“My name is Peter! You killed my uncle Ben for no reason. He was walking too slow in front of you and your friend, so you shot him and went on your way.”

Bucky shrugged. “He should have moved out of the way. I’m fucking royalty, kid, and I deserve respect.”

“You deserve shit!” Peter aimed the gun at her, his eyes full of madness.

“Get in the car, Y/N,” Bucky order for the corner of his mouth. But she couldn’t move, rooted to her spot.  All she could see was the gun pointed directly in front of her face. “Y/N, get in the the car,” repeated Bucky, never taking his sight away from Peter.

Still, she couldn’t move. Peter moved his finger to the the trigger again, smirking. “I’ll kill her, you know? I’ll take away someone you care about.”

“Kill her then,” Bucky scoffed. “You ain’t got the gall, kid.”

“Oh, yeah?” Peter smirked. Before he could put a bullet between her eyes, Bucky shoved her into the car and slammed the door closed. Gasping for air, she watched in absolute horror as Bucky gripped the boy by the throat and dragged him down a darkened alleyway where she lost sight of the pair. She’d wanted to run to Bucky, but she was glued to her seat, hyperventilating from the fear that gripped her.

She nearly jumped out of her skin as a gunshot echoed all around her. “No!” she screamed as hot tears sprang from her eyes and ran down her cheeks. Moments went by and Barnes still hadn’t emerged back onto the street. She knew she was worried for him. But if anyone had asked, she’d deny it.

“Bucky,” she whimpered as time went on. Still neither of the men emerged.

Five minutes went by. Then ten. Twenty. Soon, hysteria overtook her and the songstress jumped from the car. Blindly, she ran down to the alleyway searching for Bucky. Screeching, she skidded to a halt as she found a body lying on the ground in a puddle. She knew it was blood, what else could it have been?

“Bucky!” she yelled, running to the pair. Disoriented, she nearly dropped to the ground as she noticed the body laying on the ground in front of her. Her heart fell out from her chest in relief. It wasn’t Bucky’s, but Peter’s body on the cold ground.

“Bucky,” she cried out, tears flowing down her cheeks as she gazed around wildly for him. She never imagined ever being a witness to Bucky’s cruel lifestyle, not like this. Not on a date night when they had been getting along.

“Doll,” his voice was a shivering breath in her ear. His arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her away from the scene. “Go back to the car. Please, go back. You weren’t meant to see this.”

“You took too long to come back to the car,” she cried out. “I’d thought-”

“I’m waiting on Nick to come around and clean the area, Y/N,” explained Bucky, trying to force her away from the body in front of them both. But she couldn’t take her eyes away from the poor boy’s body. He was just a kid and Bucky had killed him for no reason. Maybe the kid was hungry. Maybe Bucky really had killed his uncle. Who knew the truth? There were plenty of people who wanted Bucky’s head on a stake. But to see violence up close like this? It was both frightening and fascinating.

Headlights illuminated the alleyway causing her to finally tear her eyes away from the bloody body. It was Nick and the boys.

“About time, boys,” Bucky greeted, gently releasing his grasp from her. The boys’ club was back together as Bucky shook each of their hands.

“Sorry, boss,” Nick spoke, his gaze lingering on her for a long moment. “We got caught up in a poker game with some of the casino fellas.”

Bucky nodded. “Take him to the river and make sure nobody sees you.”

“Of course, sir,” Steve replied, already kneeling down to grab the dead body by the ankles.

“And Nick?” Bucky arched a brow towards Fury.

“Yes, Barnes?” Nick intoned, a bored expression present on his face.

“You ever keep me waiting like this again, and I won’t hesitate, you hear me?” Bucky’s voice was rough and deep. It was enough to get his point across.

Nick gave a curt nod before helping Two Tone hoist the body into the car. Clint stood over the puddle, a few bottles in his hands as he started bleaching the area, clearing it of any sign of blood.

“Let’s go, doll.” Bucky rested a hand on her lower back and nudged her out of the alley in silence. He hadn’t wanted her to see the body or the blood. He hadn’t want her to see any of it. But what could he have done about it? She probably hoped that it was his body lying in blood, not the kid’s. He didn’t know and now wasn’t the time to ask. She wasn’t cut out for a violent lifestyle, no matter how feisty she was. He knew she was merely protecting herself. For that, Bucky couldn’t blame her.

The car was tense for Bucky. His little songbird was quiet, her face blank. No smiles or teasing this time around.

“You killed him,” she spoke as he was nearing the penthouse. “In cold blood.”

“I killed him because he had a gun pointed at my girl’s head,” Bucky stated calmly, though his grip on the steering wheel had caused his knuckles to go white.

“I’m not your girlfriend, Barnes,” she whispered out loud. To Bucky, it sounded as if she were trying to convince herself of that idea.

“Keep telling yourself that.” Her eyes shot up to Bucky at his comment, but he was watching the road. “Everyone knows it, love, whether you accept it or not.” He shut the engine off as he parked near the penthouse.

She rolled her eyes and struggled not to smile as Bucky opened her car door. “I need a bath. You should join me,” she commented as she stepped out of the car. Instead of waiting for an answer, the songstress passed Bucky and headed for the lobby.

His heart thudded. “Gladly,” Bucky shouted as he stared after his songbird. 


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a long few weeks since she’d finally given in and signed the contract for Barnes. She hated herself for it but with Clint and Steve dogging her every step, she felt couldn’t do much else. But Bucky was ecstatic, like a kid finally getting a long sought after toy. Thoughts of Tony gathered in the back of her mind though. She found she couldn’t shake the devilish look in the man’s eye from her thoughts, no matter how much she tried distracting herself.

In the meantime, she had nearly drunk herself dry at Bucky’s expense. He didn’t seem to care - he had more than enough money to feed the starving children in Germany and Japan combined.

So, there she sat in Bucky’s penthouse, a bottle of rum in her right hand, a wine glass full of red in the other, alone in the living room. She hadn’t seen Bucky in over a week. Of course, he was always the gentleman and sent flowers to her every morning before she performed at the casino.

She couldn’t understand why she was working in his casino. He had plenty of bars surrounding the city. So why a dingy casino that was terribly lit for her to perform in? This wasn’t what she had signed up for, he had to have known that.

Glancing at the clock that hung on the wall by an elegant window, she sighed to herself knowing she had to be getting ready to perform in less than two hours. She grimaced as she chucked the last of the alcohol into her mouth before skulking to her bedroom. Well, it was really Barnes’ bedroom, but somehow she’d taken up living in his bedroom in his penthouse. The disgust she felt for herself grew by the minute. He had groveled at her knees during one late night. She was vulnerable and nearly blacked out on wine and tequila. Of course, her drunken mind would accept living here. The living room had been bigger than her entire first floor of her house and she wasn’t going cold in the night.

Once sober, she hated herself for drinking that night. She wished she could take it all back but it was too late by then. She was working for the man who killed her mother, a man she swore she’d never work for or associate with, a man who looked at her as though she was a piece of meat.

She fucking loathed James Buchanan Barnes.

As she was grumbling angrily to herself, she hadn’t noticed the redhead who slipped in quietly. Stopping in shock, she exclaimed, “Nat!”

The ginger woman smiled. “Clint let me up; I figured I’d drive you to the casino. I missed seeing you around, kid.”

“Oh, my God!” She ran over and nearly tackled her friend to the ground in excitement. “Nat, it’s been absolute hell here.”

Natalia scoffed. “You’re still alive, aren’t you? Not pregnant? No bruises? No cut lips?”

“Oh, shut up!  Zip up the back for me, will you?” she sassed, turning around so Natalia could help her with the zipper.

“C’mon, I have the car running outside and I’ll fucking murder someone if it gets hijacked.” Natalia was a bit rougher than usual as she yanked the zipper up.

“Yes, ma’am,” teased the young singer as she followed the redhead out of the room. Thank God! Someone other than Barnes or his lackeys to keep her company!

When the pair arrived at the casino, they walked in to discover that it was nearly packed with adults of all ages. “I’ll be damned,” Natalia whistled as they pushed through the crowd of bystanders and casino-goers to get backstage.

“I’m used to it by now,” she grumbled as they made their way beyond the crowded area and into the silence of the long, dark corridor. “I fucking hate it here, Nat,” she confessed sullenly, beckoning the redhead through a door to their left. Natalia assumed it was her dressing room, and boy, was she impressed by it.

“I don’t see why you would hate it, love,” Natalia spoke softly, sitting on the couch.

“He tricked me into living with him the first night I had dinner with him, Nat.” Her face was deadpan serious as she started to undress only to replace the dress with yet another one, a tighter one, just how Bucky liked her dressed.

Natalia shrugged. “So?”

“Screw you,” the songstress spat as she slipped into her heels before sitting in front of the vanity to apply make up.

“He hasn’t hit you, nor has he called you any vile names, Y/N,” Nat pointed out. “The only horrible thing he’s done to you was trick you into living his penthouse so you wouldn’t have to worry about taking care of your house. You were hardly keeping it together as it was.”

She sighed heavily, letting Natalia’s comments hang in the air. Natalia was right - Barnes had been good to her. But still, she couldn’t let go of the anger she felt for that man. She would never be able to forgive him for killing her mother let alone forget it. He could deny it all he wanted. He was responsible for it, and that was pure truth in her mind.

“What’re you thinking, kid?” Natalia asked, glancing over at her after a few moments of silence. “Did I hit a nerve?”

She mulled over Natalia’s words for another few seconds before she released a deep sigh and hung her head low. “There’s something strange about him, Nat. While he’s the Asshole of Brooklyn, he’s been so kind to me when we’re alone together and I don’t know what the fuck to even think of him when he’s like that. I hate him for killing my mother and trust me, I do! I loathe him. But I want to like him! I want to like the man he allows me to see when it’s just the two of us in the same room. He doesn’t try and pull the rug from under my feet. He doesn’t poke or prod me in any way and it’s fucking terrifying me, Natasha.”

“Natalia,” she corrected quietly. She hated the Americanized version of her name. Only a select few were ever able to utter it without consequence, Clint being one of them. “And didn’t I tell you how he would treat you if you only gave him a chance?”

“Wipe that damned smirk from your face,” the songstress demanded, though she sported the beginnings of a smile.

“Y/N!” A knock on the door broke the conversation and Two Tone popped his head inside. “You’re almost up.”

“Thanks, Steve!” she smiled at the blond before his face disappeared and the door closed.

“So, you’re crushing on his henchmen, too? Or just old Buckaroo?” Natalia teased.

“I will ask Barnes for your head on a stake if you don’t knock it off, Nat!” She swatted at her friend as the ginger came behind her and gazed at their shared reflection. Natalia puckered her lips before winking and leaning down to swipe a small kiss across her friend’s face.

“Best of luck to you tonight, Y/N.”

She nodded and watched Natalia’s image in the mirror as the redhead exited the room. There was only a few moments left to get ready. Another knock on the door and she smiled as Steve had poked his head in once again.

“I was just about to come out, Steve,” she chided lightly.

“Good, the boss was starting to think Natalia kidnapped you,” he replied as she walked out of the room and smirked at him. The trek to the half-crescent shaped stage was a short one and within moments, she began singing some random medley Barnes had her practicing the night before.

She sung her heart out like she always did. Every now and then, she caught a glimpse of her boss hovering in the shadows, near the casino employee doors he never allowed her through. She never questioned his rules and she never had a reason to walk through those doors anyway. Barnes didn’t really consider her an employee anyway; the rule was a moot one for her.

Near the end of her set, Barnes had disappeared through those same employee-only doors. She couldn’t tell, but she had thought that maybe he had company along with him. The sudden feeling of jealously was fleeting, but it unnerved her until she had walked off stage. Making her her way through the crowded casino to the bar section, she found Clint serving cocktails to an elderly couple.

“And how is Barnes’ old lady doing, huh?” he said in way of greeting. Clint had started calling her that lately - Barnes’ old lady.

“Exhausted,” she admitted. “And don’t call me that!” Her snap was half-hearted as her gaze found those double doors again. She couldn’t help but wonder what Bucky had been doing behind those forbidden doors. “Hey Clint?”

“Yeah, sweetheart?” he asked, placing his hands on the bartop. She could see why Natalia liked Clint, he had an easy smile and kind eyes.

“What exactly is behind those employee doors?”

“Employee information, money carriers, money stacks, dead bodies, the usual.”

“Excuse me?” She blinked, not sure if he had been joking about the ‘dead bodies’ comment or not.

Clint didn’t get to answer as the bar phone rang. He grabbed it swiftly from underneath the countertop. His brows shot up once he heard Bucky’s voice on the other line. “Keep her busy, Barton, a’ight? I got Dot up here and she’ll be here for the night.”

“A’ight, boss.” He stole a glance at the songstress as she sipped her drink. “I’ll take her to Natalia’s shortly.” That seemed to catch her attention, good. A minute later, Clint hung up the phone and grinned at her. “Say, Y/N, Bucky’s going to be out of town for the night. He asked me to take you over to Natilia’s, doesn’t want you by your lonesome in the penthouse.”  
Sighing, she happily agreed as she downed the remainder of her drink. Clint nodded and escorted her from the building once Steve took over the bar for him. The ride to Natalia’s was silent - the car rides were usually quiet and she had no reason to suspect anything out of the ordinary. Barnes had already called the redhead, explaining to her that he had a business event to attend to that evening. It was across the city with Tony Stark and Barnes couldn’t miss that. Natalia wholeheartedly agreed to keep Y/N company. She knew what Bucky was up to, but she wasn’t going to be the one to call him on it.

********

Three hours into spending much needed time with Natalia and Wanda at Natalia’s bar, the phone rang, scaring the hell out of the three girls. “The Red Wing,” Natalia greeted once she placed the phone to her ear. A moment of silence with her listening intently to the other end of the line before she sighed with a roll of her eyes. “Good night, Clint.” With little care, Natalia dropped the phone back into the cradle.

“What was that about?” Wanda asking, popping a peanut in her mouth

“Nothing, really,” shrugged Natalia. “Just calling me to say goodnight is all. He’s sweet like that.”

Something about the way Natalia shifted on her feet as she leaned against bar counter had Y/N starting to worry. The uneasiness was soon forgotten though as Barnes was next to call. Immediately, Natalia handed the phone over to her friend, grinning from ear to ear.

“Hey doll,” Bucky greeted once he heard her voice. “Tomorrow, what d’yah say I take you out to dinner again?”

She caught herself smiling at the sudden invitation, but stopped as soon as Natalia smirked at her. “We’ll see. Maybe you could come pick me up from Natalia’s tomorrow night?” Her voice shook and what was once a demand became a question.

“Oh, no,” Bucky spoke, she could envision the smile on his face. “I’m having Stevie pick you up in the morning. Be ready to leave at nine, okay?”

“Of course,” she bid as a farewell, already reaching to place the phone back.

“Goodbye, sweetheart.”

At the last sound of Barnes’ voice, she thought she heard a woman’s voice on the other end but chalked it up to him being in the casino, nothing more.


	6. Chapter 6

She walked into the penthouse, Bucky hot on her heels. Along the way to the bathroom, she had disregarded her heels and purse, tossing them onto the couch, Bucky’s jacket followed only a moment later.

She knew what was going to come from this mess of a night. But she hadn’t a care in that moment. She wanted to get her mind away from what she had witnessed. A hot bath and a glass of wine would do that for her.

“Grab the wine bottle, please?” She turned to Bucky as the approached the bathroom door.

“Okay,” he agreed before rerouting his steps to the kitchen. By the time he had returned to her, she was dressed in only a pair of panties. Her hand outreached into the faucet of the tub, testing the warmth of the water.

“You look ravishing, sweetheart,” he whispered, trying his best to conceal the want that he had felt for her.

She let slip a small smile as she turned her head to meet his gaze. His shirt was bloodied and half undone, the hem of it hanging loosely out of his pants. “So do you.” She agreed, standing to remove her underwear before stepping into the tub of warm water. She nearly moaned at the feel of it.

“Pour me a glass?” She asked, leaning her chin on the side of the tub.

He agreed and popped the cork open, immediately filling a glass and handing it over to her.

“This is scaring me,” she mumbled as he sat along the edge of the large tub. “I thought I had known what I was getting into when I agreed to sign your contract. But my life turned upside down ever since I came in here.”

“I told you that I would protect you,” he swore. “I told Sam that I would keep you out of harm’s way. Falling in love with you was something I hadn’t accounted for.”

“You’re a slimeball and an asshole,” she smiled, looking up at him with a childlike grin easing onto her face. “But there’s something about you, Bucky, that I can’t help but to love. And I wish I didn’t. I wish I couldn’t.”

“Because I killed your mother?” He asked.

“Yes.” She mumbled before taking a drink of her wine. “Join me?” She asked softly, sitting up and moving over to the other side of the bathtub so he could sit comfortably inside as well.

He stood from the edge of the bathtub and stripped, never taking his eyes away from her. This is what he had wanted all along. This is what he craved for- her body. But now that he had her like this, why did he want to break away? He wasn’t scared. Not for himself, away. He couldn’t understand why she was playing with his feelings as she was.

He cared for her. He had strong feelings for her. But this was the mob life. Even if she had eventually agreed to becoming a permanent part of his life, he knew it wouldn’t last. Not with Dot in the picture. Not with his cheating ways. The mobster life wasn’t fit for a family.

It wasn’t a place for love. It wasn’t a place for a child to grow up in. It wasn’t a place for her, either. He hated himself for dragging her into this life. But when he had heard her voice at Sam’s club, he craved for her. Yeah, he should have gone about it a different way then he had. But still, he had her right where he wanted her all along.

And that should have been enough for him. But it wasn’t. He hated himself for putting her in this position. He hated himself for allowing her to see Peter Parker’s dead body in that alleyway. All he wanted tonight was a nice evening out for dinner. Nothing more, nothing less.

“I’m waiting,” she sung as she took ahold of his hand before gently prodding him. “Are you not coming in?”

“Yes, sorry,” he shook his head and walked into the tub before sitting down opposite her. “Doll,” he spoke. “I never wanted you to see that body.”

“Let’s not speak of that, okay?” She mumbled as she moved closer to him. “Let’s talk about something else?”

“Like what?” He blinked as she turned around and grabbed a shampoo bottle before squirting some into the palm of her hand and telling him to dunk his head under the water. “You’re not going to drown me, are you?” He asked cautiously.

She rolled her eyes and repeated herself.

He cautiously closed his eyes before swiftly dunking his head and coming back up for air. She was smiling as she rubbed the shampoo through his hair and wrapped her legs around his waist. “Despite the events afterwards, dinner was amazing, thank you for that,” she whispered in his ear once she had finished shampooing him.

“Thank you for allowing me to take you, darling,” he smiled just before dunking his head under the water’s surface to rinse the suds out.

“You’re such a sweet guy, you know?” She asked, reaching for the conditioner bottle to hide the embarrassment that she felt with the admission.

“But I’m still a nasty old mobster who killed your your mother, right?”

She couldn’t help the sigh of laughter as she poured the contents into her hand and repeated her previous actions of massaging it into his scalp.

“I think…” she spoke carefully.

“What do you think?” He whispered before going under the water once more.

“You’re going to think I’m drunk or something,” she chuckled.

“Tell me,” he whispered, moving her from behind him so she could straddle his lap.

“I want you, Bucky,” she admitted quietly. “I have for a long while now. You know I had feelings for you, thanks to Natalia. I tried ignoring them. But you’ve only been so kind to me lately and I just-” she ended her rant in an embarrassed sigh and rested her forehead on his shoulder.

“So,” he drew out carefully, trying to understand what she was confessing to him.

“You knew it for a while, Bucky,” she spoke, voice hardly louder than a whisper yet again. “I did as well, I just- I was scared of allowing you into my feelings because this life is scary for me.”

“Would you like to lay down?” he asked.

She nodded and proceeded to move away from him, standing up in the tub before stepping out. She wrapped herself in a towel before he followed suit.

**********

Three days have passed since that evening with Barnes. He’d shown her everything that she asked him for. He showed her love and affection. He allowed her to see the lamb underneath the lion. And for that, you could never repay him.

Although, he’d been gone for the last two days, on a business trip with his henchmen. you found myself missing him as you sat in Natalia’s bar, glass of water in front of you. Sam was hanging out with the group of friends, on the very rare occasion he’d allowed Pietro to bar tend.

“It’s been utterly quiet around the place,” he admitted, though he had a sparkle in his eye- a look that you missed dearly.

“I wish I could say the same for me,” she admitted quietly, swirling a finger in the water.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Natalia piped up, eyeing the songstress with concern. “He hasn’t hurt you, has he? Because if he had-”

“- Calm down, Romanova,” she laughed before her face school itself into a somber expression. “He keeps going away on business across the city with his men. And whenever I ask him about it, he waves it away, telling me that everything’s fine and dandy.”

“What’s that a concern of yours for?” Natalia blinked. “Last time I checked, you were happy to be away from him.”

“He’s been treating me so good, Natalia,” she bit the corner of her tongue softly. “I told him I’d wanted him. So we laid in bed together finally.”

“Wasn’t that the arrangement for you living with him? You sleeping in the same bed together?” She asked. “It was the only way you didn’t have to worry about paying your pills. And he knows Sam would murder him if he let you sleep on a couch, no matter how fancy the fuckin’ thing costs.”

“We fucked, Nat.” She pointed out, causing Sam to choke on his alcohol, the contents spilling out on the bar. “For the first time, we fucked.”

“And-and-” Natalia couldn’t find the words to speak.

“It’s too early to tell, but he wants my child,” she spoke as she drank a mouthful of water.

“So that’s why you won’t take any whiskey?” Sam realised.

She nodded. “If I became pregnant, I don’t know what I would do.” I’m terrified of having a child in this life of Barnes.”

“Convince him to move out of the city; his goons will take care of anything that needs to be taken care of.”

She smiled grim. “I can’t ask that of him, Sam. Brooklyn is his life. And I refuse to take him away from that.”

“Oh my,” Natalia spoke over the rim of her glass. “You fuck a guy once and he becomes the most important part of your life.”

“Fuck off,” she spat, albeit with a smile on her face as she dipped her fingers in the glass of water and flicked them at her ginger friend. .

“All it takes is one time,” Sam spoke with a tiny shake of his head. “Are you sure you’re willing to bring a child into this life?”

“Bucky turned out alright,” She shrugged.

“I’m going to assume he was gentle with you?” He asked.

“Are you that curious about how your boss beds a lady?” She smirked,

“Well, speaking from witnessing his previous lays, he wasn’t gentle with them; they could hardly sit without wincing.”

“Yes, he was gentle with me.” She rolled her eyes. “He wanted it that way for some reason.”

“You’re not disposable to him, not like those other girls.” Sam said.

“I’m scared, though, for our future.” She admitted. “I’m terrified of raising a child with him. But at the same time, I have a feeling he’d be a wonderful father,”

“That he will be,” Sam agreed, taking another shot of moonshine.

“But I don’t want my child growing up in this lifestyle and I don’t want Bucky to pick and choose either.”

He shrugged. “Nobody’s perfect, love.”

“He’s murdered people,” she spoke softly as she looked down at the glass of water. “He killed my mother. He killed an innocent child less than a week ago in front of me.”

“As I said, nobody’s perfect,” Sam consoled. “He’s the mobster king of Brooklyn. He’s vile and cruel, but he will protect what he loves. And he loves you most of all.”

“Liar.” She stated.

“Deny it all you want,” he winked. “You’ve already admitted you loved him the moment you laid down with him. You’re stuck with him, now more than ever.”

“Shut up,” she grumbled as Natalia refilled her glass of water.

*********

It’s been nearly a month since that glorious night spent in Bucky’s bed with him. Usually, she’d laid at opposite ends, but as of late, she’d spent the nights cradled in his arms. It was a warmth she’d never thought she had craved. But as the days grew long and the nights were ever the more freezing, Bucky had disappeared. He seemed to prefer nights sleeping at his casino, while she spent lonely days at the penthouse.

He’d called a few times, telling her that he loved her, but he was stuck at the casino and couldn’t make it home. Of course, she felt utterly saddened and annoyed after the calls. But at least she knew where he was, in case something had happened.

But worried thoughts possessed in her mind. He spent less and less time around her and more time at the casino or dealing with business across town. She’d always asked what was the business, but he’d never say a word to her. She tried prodding Clint and Steve, but neither men ever gave her a straight answer whenever they had appeared at the penthouse to bring her a bouquet of flowers or a dinner.

She wanted his company, though, ever since she’d found out she was pregnant, Bucky seemed less and less attracted to her. She couldn’t help but to assume that he’d thought he made a mistake in bedding her that night.

All of her worries fled from her mind, however as a knock sounded on the door. She smiled, knowing exactly who was behind it waiting for her.

“Scotty!” She greeted heartedly as she opened the door, to reveal one of her dearest friends that always cheered her on while she first started working for Sam before he had been drafted into war. “Oh, my God! The war did you wonders, boy!”

He chuckled before flexing his bicep and stepping inside the place. “So, this new man of yours, huh?” He raised a brow.

“It’s nothing like that, Scott.” She denied right away. “I work for him.”

“Nattie tells me you’re carrying a child now?” He tilted his head, smirking.

“Of course she would,” she rolled her eyes. “Girl can’t seem to keep quiet on things lately.”

“So, is the mobster Crown treating you well, my dearest friend?”

“Stop kissing my ass.” She laughed out as the pair walked off to the kitchen so she could prepared dinner for the two of them; spaghetti and ricotta cheese, a favorite of Scott’s.

“You need to come over and make this for Cassie,” he spoke over an hour later as she dug into the food she placed in front of him. “God, I missed your home cooking when we were in school.”

“Stop kissing ass,” she laughed out, wiping him with a dish towel as she walked behind him in order to sit down next to him.

“Can I bring some home for Cassie?” He asked around a mouthful of food.

She groaned at this mannerisms before nodding. “Take the whole lot if you’d like. Otherwise it’s all getting dumped down the garbage chute.”

“What?” He exclaimed, looking between her and the amount of leftover food still sitting on the stovetop.

“Barnes hates leftovers and once the boys usually have their fill, whatever isn’t eaten, gets chucked.” She shrugged. “It’s fucked up, but he just hates leaving leftover food in the fridge.”

“Why doesn’t he donate the food?” He asked. “I’m sure he can afford to give his food away to the homeless instead of tossing it away.”

She sighed before moving on over to the living room. “Go in the cabinet next to the fridge. There’s a bottle of wine. Take it with you on your way out.”

“Prissy,” he mumbled, causing her to smile.


	7. Chapter 7

She walked out of Dr. Cho’s office by herself. She was confirmed to be one month and one week into her term. Bucky couldn’t tag along, since he was on yet another business proposition with that asshole Stark- or maybe he was only making excuses again. She still felt uneasy about that man whenever she thought of him. But her communication had been very little with Stark, and for that she was entirely grateful.

She took a cabbie ride home, immediately calling Sam at his bar to inform him of the news, knowing he’d tell Natalia. He was ecstatic about it. He’d wished her a happy day, and the conversation ended there as he needed to return to the bar patrons.

And she felt alone, yet again. She’d tried calling Clint, or maybe Steve. But neither of the men had answered her calls. She’d figured none of them were at the casino. She’d wanted to call Scott to keep her company, but she couldn’t tear him away from Cassie, his daughter. Not when he had just returned home from touring with his squadron.

The phone rang out, just as she had settled on the couch with a glass of wine. She knew she shouldn’t be drinking, but her nerves were shot at this point. She was alone and miserable. She stood up with a heavy sigh and slumped over to the phone that sat on the desk in the corner of the living room. Checkbooks and blueprints were spread across the top, nearly covering the phone.

She swiped the paper away before picking up the receiver and speaking into it.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Bucky’s voice rang out in he ear. The sounds of the casino behind him.

“Well,” she chuckled darkly, “how’s it feel to be a father, Buck?”

“Excuse me?” He asked.

“The appointment, remember? It was today.” She pointed out, swishing the drink in her hand before tossing it into her mouth and swallowing the liquid heavily.

“Shit, doll,” he breathed out. “I-I’m sorry. I forgot.”

“You seem to be forgetting about me a lot lately, Bucky.” She accused as she tried not to allow tears to fall down her cheeks. “I’m starting to assume you and Tony are a couple or something.”

“If you ever,” his voice become deadly threatening, “if you ever assume that of me, I’ll have your goddamned head on a silver plate, you hear me?”

“What else can I assume, James?” She threw out. “I’ve made love to your pillow more than you in the last three months. I’ve made love to the thought of you more than your physical body. How am I supposed to feel about that?”

“I called to tell you I was taking you out for lunch, okay?” He spat before hanging up the phone.

She growled in anger before throwing the phone back on the receiver and stomping into the bedroom. She heard the door open and didn’t give a damn who had walked in, be it friendly or an an enemy.

“Y/N?” Clint’s voice rung out, causing her to sit up and seethed with anger.

“Where the fuck have any of you been?” She demanded, walking out into the living room. “I’ve been sitting here for more than a month without so much as a phone call from anyone.”

“Look,” he sighed out, raising his hands in front of him in surrender. “Barnes told me he’s been speaking to you every night before he went to bed. Had I known he lied to me, I would have straightened his ass out. Okay?”

“What are you doing here, Clint?” She accused, feeling anger rising in her.

“I was coming to check on you and make sure you were okay.” He explained.

“Like you care?” She spat, grabbing a pillow from the couch and throwing it at him. “You never cared before, asshole. Why care now? Who told you to come here? It sure as hell wasn’t Bucky. So who?”

He sighed and scrubbed a hand at the back of his neck. “Nat asked me to come check on you. She said you hadn’t spoken to her in two months. She thought Barnes tossed you to the curb or somethin’.”

“Nobody’s called me in a month!” She screeched, storming over to him and slapping his chest. “I’m pregnant with his child and he doesn’t give a shit.”

Clint gently wrapped her in his arms to get her to calm down. She growled out in anger before she stopped her assault on the innocent man. “I’m staying here the night with you, a’ight? Barnes is staying at the casino with some company.”

“Who?” She asked, despising herself for it.

“That’s not your concern,” he spoke, releasing her and guiding her over to the couch before going back to retrieve the couch pillow she had thrown at him moments before.

“I hate him,” she spoke as he sat next to her and turned the television on, flipping through the channels before stopping on a movie. “I hate how he’s carved himself into my heart. I hate how I love him. I hate how I’m carrying his child. I hate that he abandoned me like this. It’s not fair to me or his child. All this stress he’s putting me through, I don’t deserve it.”

Clint listened, but never spoke. He’d wanted to tell her of Bucky’s exploits with Dot and numerous other females at the casino. But it was never his place to speak. He’d told Natalia about it. But even she refused to speak on it. She knew exactly how Barnes ran since she was a high school student with the boys.

Natalia Romanova may have been one of her closest friends, but she would not be the one to tell Y/N that Bucky Barnes was not a family man. It wasn’t in his nature to do so. The mob life ran through his blood. He would never give it up, not for anyone. He was already far too deep in the life in high school. Now that he was a grown man, she knew the only way Barnes would ever escape the mobster life would be in death.

Clint knew that as well, being Natalia’s cousin and all. He was the one to introduce the pair many years ago. He had hoped that the redhead would be able to calm Barnes down. He’d wanted Bucky to see that there was a life worth living away from the violence and agony they had suffered.

Even Steve, the poor little guy. He’d tried convincing Bucky not to go too far into this life. But nothing anyone had told him, had changed his mind. Women fell over themselves wanting a piece of Bucky. And who was he to deny them a once in a lifetime opportunity?

Bucky loved her, oh yes. That was never a lie. He fell for her voice first, before he started to crumble and ache for her touch. Once he had her touch, that was the end for him. He still loved her, but there was something else he wanted.

But he couldn’t have a family, not with her, not with anyone. He lived a life of crime and utter deceit. Why would he put his family at risk? Why had he fucked her that night? Why was he so stupid as to not wear protection? He was scared at the thought of fatherhood. He was scared to raise a child in this lifetime.

He couldn’t ask her to get rid of the unborn spawn of his. That was a definite no. He didn’t believe in abortions. But if she’d wanted to keep the child, he’d be there for the both of them. Even if it terrified him more than having a gun pointed at his cock.

“You don’t hate him, Y/N,” Clint declined softly as she scooted closer to him on the couch and rested her head on his shoulder. “You love him. And he loves you. He’s only scared of being a father, okay? It’s not something he was expecting.”  
“I just want him here, Clint,” she whimpered. “I want him to chase me like he had done when he was trying to recruit me for the casino. I want him to prove his loyalty to me.”

“I know,” he soothed, grazing a hand down her spine for comfort as the movie played out in the foreground. “He’ll come around, love. Trust me.”  
“Have I done anything wrong?” She wondered out loud.

He shook his head. “No, of course not.”

“Does he have someone else he’s giving attention to?” She whispered, shifting  so her face was mere inches away from his own. “Please tell me the truth, Clint.” Her eyes shone brightly in the soft lighting from the television set.

He didn’t know what made him do it, but he leaned into her, swiping his lips against her own. She moaned into the kiss and caressed his cheek before they had shifted on the couch, Clint leaning back against the armrest and her pregnant belly resting on his own.

She tasted of whiskey and red lipstick as he pulled away, absolutely mortified with what he had just done with his boss’s lady. It was law never to touch a woman that Bucky was interested in. If a henchman had ever done something so sinister, they would not live long after, and that was a promise that Bucky vowed on. Clint had seen it happen to one too many henchmen. And he was not willing to become one of the dead.

“I, uh,” he cleared his throat once he had gained mobility in his mouth once more. “I have to go to the bathroom.”

She shifted again to allow him to stand up on the ground. She didn’t feel any negative feelings for Bucky’s henchmen. Clint, as rude and uptight as she may have thought, was somewhat kindhearted. He seemed to care about her, more so than Bucky ever had. Maybe it was because she was Natalia’s cousin? Who knew?

Steve, she couldn’t be too sure on how she felt about him, really. He was always so quiet and reserved. He hardly ever spoke around her, so she couldn’t be too sure on how she felt about him. Maybe she’d ask Sam or Natalia about him whenever she had the chance.

Nick, she was terrified of that man. His very presence scared mice from a room full of cheese. He was intimidating and she hated it. She hated how he made her skin crawl ever since their very first meeting back in Sam’s bar all those months ago. He held an authority that Bucky seemed to lack. He was always bitter and arrogant whenever she was forced to be in his presence. He seemed to despise her from the beginning for reasons she never cared to figure out.

“Hey,” she smiled as he returned from the bathroom, his face damp. “What was that about, huh?”

He chuckled bitterly. “I never should have done that,” he admitted as he sat back on the couch. “Barnes’ll have my goddamned head on a stake if he knows we kissed.”

“He won’t find out, Clint,” she half laughed, rubbing a hand down his arm. “What is he going to do? Murder his pregnant girlfriend? Murder one of his own henchmen for doing something he should be doing but instead he’s off doing hell only knew what?”

“He’s not as innocent as he is making you think he is, Y/N,” Clint admitted slowly. “He never should have coaxed you into living here. I’ll admit, I was shocked that it took him as long to fuck you. But it never should have come down to this.”

“To what?” She poked. “Clint, he’s been ghosting me since I moved in here. We only had a handful of dates and we fucked once. He’s hardly done anything to make me feel wanted.”

“Yet you stay here?” He pointed out with a brow arched.

She sighed, leaning back against the couch. “Where else would I go, Clint? I have it good here. I have a job that pays nearly quadruple what I was receiving from Sam and Nat. Yeah, I’m alone, but it’s worth it.”

“Is it going to be worth it when that baby comes out of you, Y/N?” He grilled. “Or are you willing to sit here day after day taking care of a child when the father is out fucking other woman and coming home to you and kissing you on the mouth as if he were out picking daisies in a field?”

“Get out,” she demanded quietly. “Clint, please, get out.”

“Why?” He pried. “So you can continue to be all alone in this place?”

She sighed and walked out of the living room and into the bedroom before sitting down on the bed and allowing a few tears to fall down her face. She knew Bucky wasn’t going to be faithful. But still, she had hoped, at least for the child she was growing for him.

She’d hoped that he would have changed. But even as she had informed him of the growth of his unborn child, she was alone in the penthouse she shared with the man.

“I’ll come by with Natasha later on, kid, okay?” Clint appeared inside the room, leaning on the doorway.

“Wait, Clint,” she stood away from the bed just as he turned around to leave the room.

“Yeah, what’s up?” He asked, brow hitched in interest as she walked over to him.

He gasped slightly as she pressed her lips to his once more before releasing him. “Don’t leave me here all alone, please?” She whispered against his lips, her breath falling against him.

“I can’t-” he was at a loss for words as she gazed at him, looking like a lonely widower on the day of her husband’s funeral. The look was all it took for him to follow her back into the bedroom and cuddle up to her in the bed she shared with his boss, pulling her tightly into his embrace and resting his palm on the ever growing belly she supported.


End file.
